Hampyeong Sarang Gift Certificates, Design Changed to Boost Residents' Pride

Gift Card Design Change... Newly Reflecting Regional Characteristics

[Hampyeong=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Chunsu] Hampyeong-gun, Jeollanam-do, has changed the design of its local currency, Hampyeong Sarang Gift Certificates, for the first time in five years.

According to Hampyeong-gun on the 4th, the 10,000 won denomination design of the Hampyeong Sarang Gift Certificate features the restored "Shanghai Provisional Government Building of the Republic of Korea" and the "Ilgang Kim Cheol Memorial Hall" located in Singwang-myeon, Hampyeong. The 50,000 won denomination includes a panoramic view of the Hampyeong Drive-in Theater, which officially opened earlier this year, along with additional tourist information text.

The county incorporated representative independence activist Ilgang Kim Cheol, a native of Hampyeong, and the Hampyeong Drive-in Theater, which has recently established itself as a prominent cultural and tourist facility in the region, into the new gift certificate design to newly reflect Hampyeong's unique characteristics.

Regarding the 10,000 won note, public interest is increasing in the restored provisional government building in Singwang-myeon, the birthplace of Kim Cheol, who was the registered leaseholder, amid concerns that the provisional government building in Shanghai might be demolished at any time.

To widely promote this significance and boost the pride of the residents, the county explained that the design was changed.

Not only the design but also the color of the gift certificates has been changed.

Previously, the gift certificates were produced with colors opposite to those of the 10,000 won and 50,000 won banknotes. With this design change, the 10,000 won gift certificate has been changed to green and the 50,000 won to yellow, unifying the colors with those of the banknotes.

In particular, since the old and new gift certificates are still mixed in circulation and there are cases where different denominations share the same color, county officials urged users to carefully verify the amount when using the gift certificates until the old certificates are fully exhausted.

County Governor Sang-ik Lee stated, “As the use of the COVID-19 national support fund is limited to local currency affiliated stores and the decision was made to provide the residents' support fund through Hampyeong Sarang Gift Certificates, the circulation of the gift certificates is expected to increase.” He added, “We will take strong measures such as canceling store registrations against acts that illegally exchange gift certificates for cash without proper transactions to exploit price differences.”